Making Waves

“Ever since I met you, my life has been in constant chaos”. These are not my words reflecting on my relationship with Harvey. Oh no, my husband uttered those words to me when I was lamenting life in its current state here in Rockport. He didn’t say it to be mean or hurtful, just plain spoken and honest, like he is. I’ve been called a lot of things, but not chaos. My normal response to a comment like that is to immediately comeback with a cutting remark from my “sharp tongue”, but not this time. I think I’m maturing ;). I reflected on his statement a moment and then, I had to agree with him and we laughed about it. Of course, he clarified his comment by saying that it is usually positive chaos, but chaos none-the-less. Okay, so I have to admit some, but not all chaos I bring upon myself. For example, when Linda and I decided to start a business in Rockport, pandemonium ensued. We lived in Tomball. My husband was still working in downtown Houston and Rockport was our vacation/retirement home. We had not planned to move there until he retired, which is a several years away. So, change of plans - we put the house in Tomball up for sale, moved some of the furnishings and personal items to a townhouse near downtown Houston and the remainder to Rockport. All this happened in just a few months and only a short time before hurricane Harvey hit. Granted, I had nothing to do with the hurricane, but I did move to Rockport just in time to greet Harvey. So maybe chaos does follow me, but I like to think of it as an adventure.

Since the hurricane, we have tempered our excitement about our new business because of the turmoil here in Rockport. We are trying to be sensitive to the heart-breaking losses of others. Recently a neighbor asked about the progress of our building and I gave her a brief update. She said something that stunned me; “watching your new building coming up gives us hope”. Hope, what a powerful word for this town. Time and again comments are made about how inspiring our new building is. Inspiring! That has always been our goal.

The sunrise over Redfish Bay reminds us of one of the many reasons we are drawn to this special place.

A rainbow spanning the entire town of Rockport. A sign of hope and a new beginning.

Harvey, like a bad relationship, is in our rearview mirror. The people of Rockport and the surrounding communities, are putting the pieces back together with determination to be better than ever. Progress is slow and painful at times. Our home is still under repair. Here is my office/war room. Formerly known as the dining room.

This is not chaos. I like to think of it as a unique working environment.

The new fence is in place

Luxury patio furniture MADE IN THE USA has arrived!

Plans for the outdoor space are in the works. Linda and I have received our first order of American made, high quality and elegant outdoor furniture. The first to arrive was Telescope Casual which is out of Granville, New York. Telescope has been in business since 1903. Their furniture is made from powder coated aluminum with marine grade polymer accents. Proven durability for the harsh coastal environment.

It was exhausting and exciting to open the boxes and see the beautiful pieces we ordered.

Next up is Lloyed Flanders. Manufactured in Menominee, Michigan. They have furnished some of the Coastal Living Idea Houses as well as fine hotels and historical places with their stunning all-weather wicker furniture.

To provide a wide selection, we will carry the highly popular recycled plastic furniture from Malibu Outdoor Living. It’s beautiful, durable and helps the environment, what’s not to love?

If you live outdoors, why not make it as luxurious as your indoor space. You will never want to leave!

Almost all of our orders for indoor and outdoor furniture have been placed and shipments are arriving weekly. It has been so exciting to open these boxes and unwrap the beautiful products we have chosen. I want them all for my home! I promise we will post pictures as soon as we can get them out and displayed in the manner they deserve.

We continue to re-purpose estate finds and search for unique homemade, local items. We are striving to purchase as much as possible from local artisans, Texas’ artisans and home furnishings made in America. It’s not always possible, but we will try to make it a priority.

If construction continues to go as planned, we will have our grand opening Memorial Day weekend. That’s not official yet, but we will keep you posted. We are so excited about the home furnishings, décor and gifts we have purchased and we can’t wait to show them everyone! We know you will love it as much as we do.

In the meantime, chaos here, has to return to Tomball to meet a contractor about a pipe that busted during the freeze….

Be Inspired,

Mary

Doing what you love:

We all have these dreams of things we would love to do but can’t because real life intrudes. Supporting and taking care of your family comes first so your dreams are on hold. Then one day life-altering events occur that are terrifying and change the way you view life. It is those events that encouraged me to move forward with my dreams. One was to open a retail furniture store in Rockport. Still fearful of going it alone, I called my friend Linda. If I am going into business with anyone it had to be her. She did not hesitate. So with His grace, my husband’s encouragement (and desire to have an upstairs office space) and an extremely talented business partner and friend, we set out to create a unique and one of a kind furniture showroom with private office space in Rockport, Texas. Hope you enjoy the journey and visit us when we open in the spring of 2018!

Finding the perfect location:

We found a charming little house built in 1939 with lots of character and spectacular views of Little Bay. The plan was to restore this home and make it our showroom.

Charming huh?

Well to fix her up was not so charming. She was in bad shape, lots of plastic surgery needed for this one. So inevitably we decided demo was our best option. My wonderful family made a trip to Rockport specifically to help us remove as much of the “character” from the home before it was completely demolished. Doors, windows, flooring, cabinetry and lighting were removed. They make it look so easy on TV, but it was difficult and backbreaking work. This house was built like a tank to withstand hurricanes and even the Alexander clan had a hard time bringing this one down.

Here we are getting excited about the prospect of having some fun. We have watched way too much HGTV.

At the end of the day we were so exhausted we jumped into the pool to cool off. As you can tell, there was once a pool at this house, filled in many years ago. My sisters and I have a great imagination.

He we are relaxing by the pool.

The loot.

Pretty cool stuff. I bet you can’t wait to see what we do with it, especially that lavender sink and toilet. Yes that's what you see, a purple toilet and sink. They are my favorite. I use the term “we” loosely because I really mean Linda. She makes old things look really good. I wish she worked on people too.

In case you are wondering, that is our boat barn with the stuff piled on the boat trailers. I hope we don’t need to get the trailers out anytime soon. Needless to say, the hubby is a little annoyed.

The big guns. Now that's how you demo.

The new place.

The plans for the new home of Bay Inspired Living. The furniture showroom will be on the first floor. The second floor will have 6 private office spaces for lease. The outdoor furniture will be displayed in the HUGE backyard.

Now on to the not so fun part. Plan approval and permitting from the city.

Waiting, waiting and more waiting…..plans re-submitted with required changes. Waiting, waiting, more changes more waiting. A “few” more changes and more waiting. Tweak this, tweak that.

In the meantime Linda and I are into research and development mode. We are also attending markets in search of new and exciting things to share. We are looking forward to giving Rockport a place that has luxurious and unique home furnishings and accessories.

While we wait for plan approval, please let us know what you would like to see in your retreat. What inspires you?